Inorganic per compounds, particularly hydrogen peroxide and solid per compounds which dissolve in water with release of hydrogen peroxide, such as sodium perborate and sodium carbonate perhydrate, have long been used as oxidizing agents for disinfection and bleaching purposes. The oxidizing effect of these compounds in dilute solutions is governed to a large extent by the temperature. Thus, with H.sub.2 O 2 or perborate for example in alkaline bleaching liquors, sufficiently rapid bleaching of soiled textiles is only obtained at temperatures above about 80.degree. C. At lower temperatures, the oxidizing effect of inorganic per compounds can be improved by the addition of so-called activators, for which numerous proposals have been made in the literature. Thus, the tetraacetyl glycol uril described in German Pat. No. 1,695,219 and, more recently, the tetraacetyl ethylene diamine described in German Pat. No. 1,162,967 are used in practice. By adding these compounds, the bleaching effect of aqueous peroxide liquors can be increased to such an extent that the effects obtained with the peroxide liquor alone at 95.degree. C. are achieved at only 60.degree. C.
In the endeavor to find energy-saving washing and bleaching processes, usage temperatures distinctly below 60.degree. C. and, more particularly, below 45.degree. C., including down to the temperature of cold water, have acquired increasing significance in recent years.
Unfortunately, known activators lose much of their effect at temperatures as low as these. Accordingly, there has been no shortage of attempts to develop more effective activators for this temperature range, but hitherto to no real avail.